Google+ page stories: King Arthur Flour

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of posts about small businesses on Google+ and their tips and tricks for managing a great page. Visit our YouTube channel to see all the videos in this series and join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page.

Meet King Arthur Flour, America’s oldest flour company. Founded in 1790, King Arthur Flour is now an employee-owned company that offers everything from baking products to educational baking programs—all with the mission to “inspire, educate and bake.” PJ Hamel, King Arthur Flour’s resident writer, shows how Google+ helps the company share the joy of baking with people all around the world.



As we mentioned the other week, Google+ Pages helps you share relevant content to your stream with the right people using Google+ Circles. PJ Hamel, King Arthur Flour’s resident writer, uses Google+ circles to share certain recipes with specific groups of interested customers.



Here are some more tips for sharing to your stream:

• Share visual content. Add photos, videos, or links to your posts. Simply drag the photos, videos, or links directly to the share box. To add a link, just find the icon that's next to the URL in your browser window and drag it to the share box.
• Grab someone’s attention by mentioning them in posts. Say you’re creating a post based on a user’s question, or you want to respond directly to a customer in the comments. To really grab their attention, try “plussing” (or “mentioning”) them in your post or comment. This will alert the customer to your comment, and bring them back to the post. To mention someone:
  
  1. Type +[person's name] or @[person's name]. (You can also type their email address instead of their name.)
  2. As you type, an autocomplete list of people will appear.
  3. Select the person you want to mention.
• Add style to your post.
  
  1. Use underscores to italicize. _ italics_ → italics
     
  2. Use asterisks to bold. * bold* → bold
  3. Use hyphens to strikethrough. - strikethrough - → strikethrough

Want to learn more? Visit the Google+ Your Business site, and stay tuned for more Google+ stories and tips from small businesses. You can also watch all our Google+ page stories on YouTube.

As you share to your Stream, what kinds of content have you found are most engaging with your followers? Join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page and tag your posts #mybusinessstory.

Posted by Evelyn Lee, Google+ Pages Associate Product Marketing Manager

Google+ page stories: North Bowl

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of posts about small businesses on Google+ and their tips and tricks for managing a great page. Visit our YouTube channel to see all the videos in this series and join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page.

Recently we introduced you to Best Made Company, a group of outdoor enthusiasts that specializes in designing and handcrafting wilderness supplies. Next up we have North Bowl, a 21,000-square-foot bowling center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Oron Daskal and his staff are passionate about creating a fun, social space at the lounge and alley for their local community. In fact, he says, he probably “sees the most high fives in the city.”



One of the great things about Google+ Pages is the ability to share relevant content with the right people using Google+ Circles. Take a tip from North Bowl and learn how you can use circles with your page:



Want to get started with circles? Here are some quick tips:

• Create circles to target messages to particular groups. Say you have multiple locations, you may want to organize your followers by geographic areas, and thus, send deal updates to the most relevant people. Or say you want to share information with your employees. Just put them in a circle and make sure that only they get the message.
• Share your circles. Have you built a circle featuring all the experts in your field? Share it with the Google+ community! Click the Circles icon at the top of Google+, select the circle you’d like to share, and hit “Share this circle” at the top right of the page.
• Edit the order of your Circles. In your Circles dashboard, just click and hold on a circle in order to drag it to a new position on the page.

Want to learn more? Visit the Google+ Your Business site, and stay tuned for more Google+ stories and tips from small businesses. You can also watch all our Google+ page stories on YouTube.

How does your business use circles? Join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page and tag your posts #mybusinessstory.

Posted by Evelyn Lee, Google+ Pages Associate Product Marketing Manager

TalkBin Stories: Patama Roj of Fraiche

Editor’s Note: TalkBin enables customers to send mobile messages to business owners in real-time, like a digital comment card. To learn more, visit talkbin.com.

The pace of life for a small business owner is unrelenting. Just ask Patama Roj, co-founder and owner of Fraiche, a company based in Palo Alto, California that serves homemade organic fresh and frozen yogurt, coffee and breakfast goods. Patama is dedicated to serving food that "speaks for itself," and customers are loving it.

With three locations though (two in Palo Alto and one in San Francisco), it’s hard to understand what’s going on across the business. That’s why Patama started using TalkBin to stay connected with customers even when she’s not in a particular store. Customers ask questions and provide feedback, which helps her understand exactly what's going on in each location. "It was important for me to find a way to get this feedback real-time," she says. And with TalkBin, business owners like Patama can receive this instant feedback without sharing personal mobile phone information, since TalkBin provides a special, customer-facing phone number and forwards feedback to your phone or email.

The ability to receive TalkBin messages on her cell phone makes responding quick and convenient for Patama as well. "Customers are always surprised to hear they're getting a text back from the owner!” she says.

Interested in using TalkBin in your store too? Get three months free when you sign up with promo code BLOGSMB-2 at www.talkbin.com/signup/user.

Posted by Qasar Younis, Product Manager